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West Palm Beach commissioners Monday approved a $33.5 million ultraviolet water filtration system the city says is the cheapest and most rapidly-implemented way to meet a 2018 ultimatum from the Florida Department of Health.

The panel rejected three other options that have been discussed; a more expensive membrane technology, building a new plant from scratch out west, and building a new plant in Riviera Beach.

City Commissioners voted Monday night to reject what would have been an automatically-triggered hike in 2015 for customers of West Palm Beach utilities, who include residents of Palm Beach and South Palm Beach.

Assistant city administrator Scott Kelly, who also oversees the utility, told commissioners it had been able to cut operating and maintenance costs.

Without the vote, water rates would have risen by 2.5 percent, stormwater fees by 3 …